Chapter Eleven - Starless Night
There were no stars in the night sky.
Cole leaned back against the grimy kitchen wall. His eyes lingered against the darkness framed by the window. The emptiness resonated within him.
He'd made a mistake. He should have never let the thief go.
He'd made a mistake, and he would pay for it. It was inevitable now. King Pythor would figure it all out sooner or later- and then what?
"You . . . gonna finish that?"
Cole blinked. He looked down at the bowl of chicken stew in his hand. It was full- and cold. He looked over at the chamberlain, Dareth, and set the bowl down in front of him. "Don't think I can. Go ahead."
Dareth dug in. After a few spoonfuls, the man wiped at the corners of his lips. "What's got you worried this time?"
"Nothing."
"Right." Dareth rolled his eyes. He gestured around with his spoon, flickering drops of stew around himself. "Always nothing, always nothing. Keeping things to yourself isn't healthy, you know. That's how people get- . . . get- something. Not good, is what I'm trying to get at."
"I'm just not hungry."
"Mmhm." Dareth finished the bowl of food in record time, and leaned back against his seat. "Did you hear about it? The rumors about that boy? The one King Pythor wanted to behead- the maids are saying he had green eyes."
"It's true."
"How do you know?"
"Captain of the guard- remember?" Cole pushed himself away from the wall. "I'm the one that brought him in."
"Wow! Do you think-"
"I think this isn't a conversation we need to have here." Cole said. He glanced around the kitchen. Everyone looked busy- but Cole was willing to bet they were all more invested in Dareth's words than their tasks.
"Ah. Right. Yeah. Hmm. I guess you're-"
The backdoor to the kitchen slammed open. Everyone but Cole jolted at the onslaught of sound. Cole turned to the door, and watched as King Pythor's peculiar prisoner stumbled inside. He looked pale and exhausted- as he always did after carrying out orders.
"Y-you're back!" Dareth jumped to his feet. "Oh, good. Good. The king has been- restless. I- we- we should see him right away. He's waiting. Has been waiting. He's not in a good mood."
"Well- get ready for his mood to get worse." The prisoner said. He grinned, defiant despite the defeated curve of his back. As Cole continued to study the man before him, the name Kai finally cropped from his memories. "Things didn't go well."
"Oh." Dareth's hands tightened into fists then loosened again. "Oh."
"So let's get going. I can't wait."
"Well. . ." Dareth glanced at Kai and swallowed. He then looked toward the stairs that would lead them to the King's chambers. "I suppose …"
"I'll escort him, Dareth. You can help with the rest of the cleaning here." Cole said.
Dareth perked up. "Oh, I can absolutely do that! I'm so good at cleaning- really one of my virtues, if you think about it. We'll be done in no time. You'll see."
Cole smiled at Dareth, then gestured for Kai to begin the trek up the stairs. With a shrug, Kai complied.
Both were silent as they moved up the steps. Cole had never talked to Kai, not really. He didn't know much about him- not beyond the fact that he was King Pythor's favorite asset.
"Are you okay?" Cole asked, after Kai's third not-so-subtle hiss of pain. "Did you want to rest?"
"Right. Rest. And maybe a good dinner? I mean, I don't mean to complain but I do get a little tired of eating stale bread."
"I meant- take a breather. We don't have to rush."
"No thank you. I'm perfectly capable of climbing the stairs." Kai said. The rage in his voice was palpable. "Don't waste your chivalry on me."
Cole pressed his lips together as a rush of guilt cut through him. He thought back to Jay's words. Every part of this kingdom is drowning in hate. It was true. And Cole's detached attitude toward the world around him only served to nurture the system. How many times had he looked away? Kept his head down?
"I'll let him know you're here." Cole said as he stepped past Kai.
"How kind."
Cole sighed against the man's venom. He deserved it. You can count on me. That's what he'd told Jay. But had he meant it? Only a few hours had passed since he'd let the thief run, and he'd been drowning in regret since. Could he ever really manage to make a stand?
He knocked on the king's door. "Your majesty?"
A sound of doors being shut came from inside. After another second, the king spoke. "Come in."
Cole pushed open the door. The king looked odd within the confines of a normal (albeit extravagant) room and without the golden crown on his head. How could a single being be the source of so much misery?
"Your prisoner is back, your majesty."
"Ah! Kai. Excellent. Send him in, send him in."
With a nod, Cole stepped out of the way. Kai strolled inside. He had a confident, almost impudent swagger. One that could have fooled Cole- had he not spotted the man's trembling fingers.
Cole took a step toward the stairs- then slowed to a stop.
"I assume you bring good news for me, Kai?"
"I hurt him. But he's alive. Just couldn't bring myself to do it. Call me soft-hearted."
Him? There was only one person Cole could think of. The kid.
A long stretch of silence followed. Cole urged himself to move, but found that he couldn't. He needed to listen- needed to know what the king did, away from prying eyes. How far did his cruelty extend?
"You defy me."
"I try."
Kai's voice was strong. Admirably so.
"Very well, Kai. But remember. You are still my prisoner. I am the one in control."
"Not as much as you used to be, it seems. I do wonder . . ."
The king hissed. "You will wonder nothing. You think it's funny. You think you're a hero. But no, Kai. You are nothing. Nothing but a pawn. My pawn. So, my dear boy-"
Another pause. More threatening than the last.
"-You don't fear pain, do you? No. No, but there are ways to guarantee your obedience. You have a weak spot. One I should have gotten a hold of long before things got to this. But well, live and learn, yes? I think it's time we pulled your sister into this game of ours."
"Leave Nya out of this."
Nya. Cole recognized the name. He'd seen her once or twice- the blacksmith's daughter. Which would make Kai the blacksmith's son. A muddled memory of childhood tried to surface, but couldn't quite find enough strength to pull itself up.
"I'll kill you."
"You're welcome to try. Go on."
More silence. Cole put his hand against the hilt of his sword. If Kai attacked the king- would Cole stop it? Or would it better to do as he'd always done after all- look the other way?
Cole wasn't sure. But he didn't get the chance to find out. The king's cruel laughter attested to his continued existence. "No? Then- Go back to your cell."
The shuffle of Kai's feet against the floor prompted Cole to move forward. "You'll never get your hands on her."
"Is that so? You're right about that. I won't be the one doing the chasing, after all." The king's voice was strong enough to reach Cole even as he moved back down the steps. "I will send the Dark One to bring her to me."
There were no stars in the night sky.
Jay hadn't noticed before, when he'd first escaped the castle. He'd been too infatuated with the moon, with being alive really,to pay attention to the emptiness above him. But now? Well. Now all that joy had washed out of him.
How volatile he was. Easy to fling this way and that.
"Running away?"
Jay stumbled back and turned, tripping over Sensei Wu's outdoor decor. He landed hard, and came face to face with the carved smile of a stone frog. It did nothing to help him regain his footing. Neither did the shape by the doorway, for that matter.
"No- just needed some air." Jay said as he took in the sight of Nya before stood, and brushed himself off. Nya's features were hidden by the surrounding shadows.
"Hmm."
"It's true! I said I'd help, didn't I?"
"Well, you say a lot of things."
Jay opened his mouth. Then shut it again. She had a point.
"So the kid." Nya said. "You're the one that found him?"
"Yeah."
"Where? How?"
Jay shrugged. He glanced out at the forest, then back at Nya. "Just- the forest."
"Just the forest? Well fed and well dressed, just in the forest?" Nya scoffed. She crossed her arms over her chest. "I know you think I'm dumb, Jay. But you could try to lie a little better."
"I'm not lying!" Jay frowned. "Why would I lie about this?"
"Why would you lie about anything?" Nya shrugged. "Because you like your secrets? Because you like to be the one in control? Because you think you're smarter than everyone else around you?"
"Nya… I'm not-lying. Not about this, or about staying to help or-"
"Or?"
Jay forced himself to push the words out. "- Or about loving you. I did. I do. I always will, probably."
"And that's why you ruined my life, I assume?"
Jay shook his head. "What happened with your brother was … I was scared, okay? It wasn't like I had much of a choice."
"You were scared? You? When I was the one that had to watch Kai transform into a monster? When I was the one whose world was ripped away from her? When I was the one that ended up alone?"
"Alone?" Jay scoffed. The pain brought forth by Nya's desperate tone made it hard to think. He felt defensive. Desperately so. It was hard to see that she really did despise him. Not his fault. Not his fault. He hadn't meant- hadn't meant any of it. "You don't look very alone to me."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning you've got plenty of friends from what I can see. What about me? I don't- without you I have no one. Have had no one for a long time. But no one's bothering to ask how I am, right? Because it's all my fault. Because I'm the bad guy."
"You're alone because you left! You can't blame me for that."
"I left because you hated me. Hate me."
"Did I? Do I? How would you know that, Jay? Did you ask?" Nya's voice shook. He hated that he was the cause of the hurt in it. But he couldn't bring himself to apologize. Why not, Jay? "Or did you just slam the door and disappear from my life all together? I wonder."
Jay looked down. The stone frog smiled up at him. It seemed to have only one thing to say- You're an idiot.
"Well, if you didn't hate me then you certainly do now." Jay forced himself to laugh. "Right?"
"If that's what you think."
Jay looked up at Nya. He still couldn't discern her expression, but her posture said more than enough. Yes- she hated him. He could tell. Could feel. The waves of resentment that rolled from her body drowned him. He wanted to lash out. Wanted to cry. Wanted to make her listen, wanted to explain. But how?
"Nya-"
"Yes?"
Jay paused. How? What to say? He didn't know. Had never known. Had only ever managed to make things worse with his words.
"I'm going to fix it. This. Everything. And then- you and I and the kid and your brother- we're going to fix the kingdom. We're going to make everything better!" Positivity, positivity, positivity. It was the only weapon he had left. The only one that would serve him. "It's going to be okay. You heard Sensei- he's got a plan. A plan to make everything right again. So it's all going to be okay. I know it."
Nya laughed. It wasn't a nice sound, though. Not the sound he was used to. This sound was full of thorns. Each ring of it scratched at his skin. Made the pain over his eye swell.
"Still full of delusions of grandeur, aren't you?"
"I believe that-"
Nya held her hand up and silenced him. She took a step forward, into the light. Jay took a step back, unbalanced by the sight of her features.
No rage. No resentment. Just pure, undiluted sorrow.
"I'm sure you believe it. And I'm sure I would have too. Before. But not anymore."
"Nya…"
"I'm going to get some sleep. You probably should, too."
"Nya, I-"
Nya turned away, and slipped back into the house. Jay groaned softly, running his hands over his hair. He looked back down at the stone frog with a grimace.
"I can fix this, right?" Jay asked. "I'm not delusional, am I?"
The frog's knowing smile did not waver.
There were no stars in the night sky.
The darkness felt familiar. Both comforting and not. It reminded Pythor of his time spent in the tomb of the Ancondrai- shelter and prison all at once.
It seemed fitting. This place had seemed like a shelter. Like a place where things would all finally bend to his will. But now? Now things were starting to go wrong again. Again.
Maybe he should have left it all alone. Shouldn't have reached for so much- shouldn't have brought that pesky little green-eyed brat here.
This was a good world. Even though he still didn't quite understand the ways in which he'd been brought here.
Something had happened to him, to his body, deep within the bowels of the Great Devourer. The poison had affected him in a multitude of ways, had not only rearranged the colors of his scales, but had meddled with him in a deeper sense. Atoms rearranged. Life pulled this way and that. Changed forever, in ways that could not be seen.
It happened little by little. Maybe he'd hear voices that weren't there. See things that did not belong. Dreamed about a different world in far too much detail for it to be only his disheveled subconscious.
Then one day, He'd simply woken up here.
It hadn't taken him long to realize that despite the fact that even though the world was different, the people were the same.
More or less.
"You wished to see me?"
A cold draft washed over the room. The candles on Pythor's light stand flickered, then died. Pythor turned and watched as the thickening darkness of his room shaped itself into a man with glowing red eyes.
Garmadon.
His sweetest victory, to be sure. Maybe Kai and the sword could fight against his magic. Garmadon, however, could not.
Magic. That was the thing in this world that had given him the upper hand. Back in Ninjago, the power to use spells and curses had been reserved for a select few. But in this world, magic was everywhere, the air itself was tainted with it. It had been all he'd needed. Well, that and his incredible intelligence.
When Pythor had first come into this world, Garmadon had been uncorrupted by the Devourer's venom. Had reigned happy with his spouse and the cursed spawn that would grow up to be nothing but trouble.
Everything lined up and ready to fall apart.
"Yes." Pythor smiled. " have a mission for you, my dear Garmadon."
It had taken years for Pythor to get used to the new world. More years still to master the magic around him. A few more to locate a batch of the Devourer's venom.
"As you wish." Garmadon said. He spoke with disdain- but also, with defeat. Garmadon's spirit was broken now. Had been broken for a long time.
"I have a new target for you." Pythor chuckled. He thought back to the moment where things had first started to go his way. The corruption of Garmadon. The spell, binding their wills together. And the first order Pythor ever gave- to toss the then seven-year-old Lloyd into the river.
And now . . . well, everyone did always say that history tends to repeat itself.
"The Night Angel . . . you're familiar?"
Something flashed over Garmadon's eyes. It moved too fast for Pythor to discern its meaning.
"Yes."
"Sworn to protect the royal family . . . but now nothing more than a low life killer. Well. He doesn't interest me. But- his blonde companion sure does." Pythor almost laughed. Why ruin the surprise? It would be all the more delicious to leave Lloyd unnamed- to have Garmadon realize too late that he would once again be responsible for the death of his child. "I want you to kill him."
"The Night Angel's . . . companion."
"Blonde companion, specifically my dear Garmadon." Pythor pressed. "The details are important, Garmadon. As a former king I'd expect you to know that."
Garmadon remained silent for a beat longer than Pythor would have liked. Did the man suspect? No. No, there could be no way for Garmadon to know that a new version of his deceased son was walking hand in hand with the kingdom's most feared assassin.
"As you wish." Garmadon said in the end.
"Excellent- and oh! How could I forget?" Pythor laughed. "I believe our friend Kai has been rather lonely as of late. Find his sister. Bring her to me. Alive, if you please."
Garmadon bowed his head. The lines that kept his body separate from the dark behind him blurred, then dissipated altogether. The only evidence that The Dark One remained in the room was the pair of glowing red eyes.
"As you wish."